Located in the heartland of the United States, home to vast plains and farmland and dotted with small towns as well as cities, Nebraska is a great place to live or visit. There’s plenty to see and do for visitors and residents. Top attractions in Nebraska include the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland and the Chimney Rock National Historic Site. Popular and quirky activities in Nebraska include “tanking” on the Middle Loup and Dismal RIvers, taking the 195-mile Cowboy Trail or visiting Carhenge.
With a total population of under 2 million people, Nebraska is the 38th-largest state by population. With a fairly small population in relation to its size, Nebraska is home to plenty of small towns and few major urban areas. Let’s take a look at which of Nebraska’s many cities are the safest.
How We Determined the Safest Cities in Nebraska
We narrowed down the safest cities in each state based on two primary categories. First, we evaluated public safety factors including violent, property and hate crimes in each area to help determine the safest areas to live. We then evaluated financial and socioeconomic factors including household income, average rent and health insurance. In addition, we evaluated each state for natural disaster safety and public health safety. You can find a detailed breakdown of our methodology and links to sources here.
Here are the public safety factors we counted for each city:
*Public safety data is based on a population of 10,000 (for example, a “2” means two incidents for every 10,000 people).
- Property crime – Number of property crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Violent crime – Number of violent crimes reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Aggravated assaults – Number of aggravated assaults reported in the city (FBI Crime Report)
- Hate crime – Number of hate crimes reported in the city (FBI Hate Crime Report)
- Officer-related incidents – Number of officer-involved shootings reported in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
- Mass shootings – Incidents in which four or more people are shot/killed in the city (Gun Violence Archive)
Here are the financial safety factors we counted for each city:
- Annual rent – Annualized median rent
- Unemployment rate – The average rate of unemployed residents in each city
- Cost of living – The average annual rent and household income per city
- Poverty rate – Percentage of families that reported experiencing poverty in the last 12 months
- Uninsured employed – Percentage of employed residents that reported not having health insurance
- Uninsured unemployed – Percentage of unemployed residents that reported not having health insurance
7 Safest Cities in Nebraska
No. 1 La Vista
At the top of our list of safest cities in Nebraska is La Vista, a small suburb of Omaha. La Vista is the “youngest” city in Nebraska as it was only incorporated in 1960. Despite its recent beginnings, La Vista is one of the fastest-growing cities in Nebraska, with a current population of over 18,000 people. La Vista has the highest rental prices but the lowest unemployment rate on this list.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 5.239565 (2nd) 4.075217 (1st) 157.1869 (2nd) 1.164348 (5th) 1.164348 (5th) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 12000 (1st) 67605 (2nd) 0.017 (7th) 0.034 (7th) 0.021 (5th) 0.412 (4th) No. 2 Valley
Valley is a small eastern-Nebraska town located just outside of Omaha. Residents and visitors to Valley can visit several lakes in the area or head into town to explore the sites and attractions of Omaha. With a population of just ver 2,000, Valley is the smallest city on this list in terms of population. Despite this, the city has the highest rate of hate crime and mass shootings among our featured cities.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 4.28449 (1st) 4.28449 (2nd) 145.6727 (1st) 4.28449 (7th) 4.28449 (7th) 29.99143 (7th) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 10680 (3rd) 72907 (1st) 0.032 (6th) 0.103 (5th) 0.069 (1st) 0.089 (7th) No. 3 Ogallala
Ogallala lies close to the Colorado border in western Nebraska. Visitors to this small town can enjoy taking a trip to Lake McConaughy or Lake Ogallala or visit the Front Street Cowboy Museum. Ogallala has low crime rates and the lowest average rent on the list, making it a very affordable city in which to live.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 6.648936 (3rd) 19.94681 (3rd) 288.1206 (4th) 2.216312 (6th) 2.216312 (6th) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 7092 (7th) 38733 (7th) 0.054 (1st) 0.121 (2nd) 0.043 (2nd) NA No. 4 Lincoln
Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska and the second-largest city in the state. The city is home to many museums, historical sites and plenty of family-friendly attractions. Top attractions in Lincoln include the Historic Haymarket District, the University of Nebraska State Museum, Sunken Gardens and the Museum of American Speed. Lincoln has one of the highest average household incomes on our list, as well as a low unemployment rate.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 15.62776 (6th) 20.58291 (4th) 287.8488 (3rd) 0.415816 (3rd) 0.415816 (3rd) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 9864 (4th) 55224 (4th) 0.036 (4th) 0.096 (6th) 0.005 (7th) 0.355 (5th) No. 5 North Platte
Located in west-central Nebraska, North Platte sits on the point where the North Platte and South Platte rivers join to form the Platte River. Top places to visit in North Platte include the Cody Park Railroad Museum, the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park and the North Platte Area Children’s Museum.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 8.412552 (4th) 32.38832 (5th) 423.1513 (7th) 0.420628 (4th) 0.420628 (4th) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 8316 (6th) 49622 (6th) 0.034 (5th) 0.111 (4th) 0.025 (4th) 0.483 (2th) No. 6 Grand Island
Grand Island sits beside the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. Some popular places to visit include the Island Oasis Water Park, the Stuhr Museum and the Fonner Park horse racetrack. With some of the lowest crime rates on the list, Grand Island is one of the safest cities in Nebraska.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 13.13553 (5th) 33.41833 (6th) 290.7201 (5th) 0.386339 (2nd) 0.386339 (2nd) 0 (1st) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 8844 (5th) 52642 (5th) 0.047 (2nd) 0.127 (1st) 0.026 (3rd) 0.489 (1st) No. 7 Omaha
Seated on the west bank of the Missouri River, Omaha is Nebraska’s biggest city in terms of population with over 469,000 residents. Popular activities in Omaha include hopping on a historic train car at The Durham Museum, visiting the Lauritzen Gardens or taking a day trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Omaha, unfortunately, has the highest crime rates on this list, with property crimes being particularly high.
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Public Safety
Total Violent Crime Aggravated Assault Property Crime Hate Crime Officer Incident Mass Shootings 18.7706 (7th) 37.22161 (7th) 347.5863 (6th) 0.10653 (1st) 0.10653 (1st) 0.447426 (6th) Financial Safety
Annual Rent Household Income Unemployment Rate Poverty Uninsured Employed Uninsured Unemployed 10752 (2nd) 56780 (3rd) 0.047 (2nd) 0.116 (3rd) 0.006 (6th) 0.435 (3rd)
Nebraska State Safety
Natural Disaster Safety
In the Insurance Journal’s Natural Hazards Risk by State ranking, Nebraska comes in 24th place. The most common natural disasters that Nebraskans experience include tornadoes, earthquakes, flooding and wildfires. Nebraska’s location in “Tornado Alley” means it has a high rate of tornadoes when compared to the average across the U.S. One of the biggest tornadoes to hit Nebraska was the Hallam Tornado in 2004, which destroyed 158 homes and left major damage across the state.
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Health Safety
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the leading cause of death in Nebraska is heart disease. Following close behind are cancer and lower respiratory disease. Nebraska has been named as the No.1 healthiest state in the U.S. in terms of drug-related deaths. It also has low rates of violent crime and low rates of child poverty overall. Nebraska has also been ranked as 19th in the country for its rate of air pollution. In terms of medical care available, Nebraska is ranked in 19th place for its number of primary care physicians available but 22nd for its number of mental health care providers.
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Health Safety
Top 7 Safest Cities in Nebraska
| La Vista | 17,177 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Valley | 2,334 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Ogallala | 4,512 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| Lincoln | 288,589 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| North Platte | 23,774 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Grand Island | 51,768 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Omaha | 469,351 | 7 | 6 | 7 |